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Sisters before Misters

Several women were missing from the hot seat – and the entire evening on The Bachelor Season 20, Episode 11 “The Women Tell All.” Contestants returned to the ABC reality show this week to rehash tales of heartache and engage in a few more heated exchanges.

Among the missing – Oklahoma State University alumna Lauren Barr – known as “LB” on The Bachelor.

The 23-year-old fashion buyer for the Wooden Nickel on The Strip in Stillwater did not appear on the Monday night broadcast. Her mother, Sindy Barr, says Lauren wanted to attend her Pi Beta Phi’s sorority sister’s bachelorette party in Las Vegas.

“She had already bought the tickets and made plans,” Sindy says. “And, her sorority sisters were more important to her.”

LB was in the running for Higgins’ heart until she rejected a rose during Episode 2, saying, “I think it’s really hard for me to be here, and I don’t think I can do it,” before leaving the mansion.

Bachelor Higgins humbly reacted to her departure, blogging: “I was sad to see her go because she was a very impressive woman … but of course I had to respect her decision. I said from the start that it was a two-way street, and I wanted these women to want to be here just as much as I wanted them here. That doesn't necessarily make it easier when you see a woman like LB walk out the door away from you.”

As the first woman in The Bachelor’s history to reject a rose, Lauren showed courage and great maturity to leave — admitting it wasn’t right for her.

Yet, the reality show continues to bring notoriety to the OSU graduate with cyberspace speculation that she quit The Bachelor to date Rickie Fowler, a professional golfer who played for the Cowboys. The stories circulated after Lauren posted Instagram photos of herself with Fowler when he was visiting OSU last fall.